I'm now Etherious
by FairyAlchemist400
Summary: Natsu has to make a decision. Will he become the true demon he is, obsessed with fulfilling Zeref's death wish, or let his guild die? I'm not only focusing on the decision, but also the life afterwards. (HIATUS - More info at profile)
1. Chapter 1: A choice

**A/N FROM THE FUTURE: So, I'm rewriting this story, but I didn't want to delete the old one for the readers who might possibly enjoy the OG version more. I'd really recommend NOT reading this version though. Anyway, the plot points in the new version will be** **relatively** **the same, just (hopefully) much better written. The new chapters 1-2 are up as one chapter as of 5/15/18 (but that may be out of date eventually, if I forget to update this note, just check the latest chapters in the story).**

 ** _I needed to make this fan fiction, because I couldn't find the E.N.D fan fiction I wanted. I just needed to write it._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._**

* * *

Everyone had made it to the guild hall amidst all the fighting, but what lay before them all was worse than they had imagined. As they entered the guild, Natsu, who was in the lead, saw Zeref, his brother, his enemy, and his creator. Behind him stood Mavis, a metal collar clasped around her neck.

"Mavis!" Natsu shouted. She didn't reply.

Everything around Natsu froze.

"What?" Natsu mumbled confused.

"Natsu." He heard. Natsu turned his head at the familiar voice.

"Zeref." Natsu growled. Zeref had teleported in front of all his friends.

"I have decided that I am sick of waiting. So I will give you an opportunity to kill me." Zeref said, his eyes filled with sadness while smiling fondly at Natsu.

"Great." Said Natsu, staring coldly at Zeref.

"Here are your options: Let die, your guild mates or open your book and choose to be E.N.D instead of the way you are now." Zeref said.

"What?!" Natsu shouted furiously.

"Things will change in you choose to be E.N.D," Said Zeref, "You will look the part of a demon and have curses along with your magic. I always like your personality so I tried to keep the mental changes to a minimal. Therefore the only mental change will be that your one goal will be to fulfill my wish of death, everything else will be overshadowed until then."

"I won't!" Shouted Natsu, "If all I care about is killing you and my friends got in the way I could hurt or even kill them!"

"It's your choice… I will give you your book if you tell me to." Said Zeref, "Or you can watch them die. They might not get hurt if you choose the former."

"Then there isn't an option… I have to keep them alive." Natsu said. Tears filled his eyes as he realised that the only way they could live was if he died.

"Give me the book." Natsu said quietly.

"I'm sorry." Zeref said. The book appeared in Natsu's hands, "Open it and you'll know what to do."

Time unfroze and Natsu stood before his guild mates clutching his book.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Asked Lucy, shocked.

"Natsu, why do you have that?" Gray asked angrily as fear began to show in his eyes.

"I'm sorry everyone. I'm so sorry." Natsu said as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked quietly as she watched the tears drop from Natsu's chin.

"I'm sorry…" Natsu repeated. He began to open the book.

"No, stop!" Gray shouted as he started trying to grab the book.

Knowledge flooded Natsu's mind and he knew how to summon himself. It was quite a silly concept to him, he never would have guessed that he would do this in his life.

"I accept." Natsu said. The book closed and vanished from Natsu, reappearing in Zeref's hands.

"Shit!" Said Gray.

Happy and Lucy watched in horror as Natsu was engulfed in flames.

"Wh.. What's going on?" Lucy stuttered in horror.

The guild watched in pure shock as the flames died away. Before them stood a new version of Natsu, E.N.D.

Natsu had the same pink hair and his scarf was still adorned around his neck, but that was all that was left of Natsu's original body. Brown, curved horns sat atop his head. Black, flame-like marks and red scales covered his skin. His scaled hands had pointed fingernails, like claws. Red wings and a large tail protruded from his back, but the thing that stood out the most to everyone were his cat-like glowing red eyes.

"Na… tsu?" Lucy choked out.

Natsu glanced at her sadly and then turned to face Zeref. "It's time for you to, finally, die."

The thing which caused Natsu to want to kill Zeref were the memories and pain Zeref had endured. He wanted to end Zeref's suffering, it was in his blood.

Natsu charged at Zeref, but Happy was already in front of him.

"Natsu stop!" Happy shouted as tears spilled down his face, "You'll die!"

"What?" Gray and Lucy said simultaneously.

"Happy, I already know… But every bit of my body and soul are telling me that I must kill Zeref. He never wanted kill…" Natsu said, his voice thick with depression. "Now please, move."

"No!" Happy shouted.

Natsu glanced at Zeref for permission. "I'll wait." Zeref replied, "You can say goodbye."

Natsu grabbed Happy gently and embraced him. Careful not to injure Happy with his new claws.

 _I didn't think I would still care for them…_ Natsu thought. He took off this scarf.

"Happy," Natsu said as he wrapped the scarf around Happy, "I'll miss you so much."

"Why are you giving this to me?" Happy asked, sobbing, "It's yours. You'll need it back."

Natsu slowly shook his head.

Gray marched up to Natsu.

"How long have you known?!" Gray shouted.

"About a day ago." Natsu said. "And you?"

"How did you tell?" Gray asked, surprised.

"You noticed what was happening." Natsu replied.

"You are so stupid!" Shouted Gray, "Why would you think doing this to yourself would be the solution!?"

"Because you guys would've died if I didn't." Natsu said.

"I thought I would end up killing you if this happened, but… I can't bring myself to do it." Said Gray.

Natsu smiled which broke Gray's heart.

"You're an idiot you know?" Gray said as tears formed in his eyes.

"It was always fun being your friend, Gray." Natsu said crying.

Natsu was grabbed from the side. He turned in shock. There, Lucy held tightly onto Natsu.

Natsu had always liked Lucy. He felt protective of her and hated seeing her cry, but this was his last chance to say something.

"Lucy… I don't want you to look at me…" Natsu said. He wanted to be normal for her.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, "It doesn't matter how you look to me!"

Natsu touched her cheek and Lucy held his hand in response.

"I love you Lucy…" Natsu said with eyes closed.

Erza and the others gasped.

"Natsu!" Lucy replied, shocked. _I never knew that he thought of me that way. He always acted so childish, but I think I have always liked him._

"I… I love you too Natsu." Lucy smiled, crying.

Natsu kissed her on the forehead. ''Goodbye Lucy."

Natsu turned towards the rest of his guild. "Goodbye everyone. I'll wish I could stay."

Natsu began to walk towards Zeref. Lucy tried to keep him still, but he pulled away without any effort.

Everyone in the guild ran towards Natsu as they shouted, crying, "NAATTTSUUUU!"

But they were gone. "NATSU!" Lucy cried in agonising depression.

"There's another way!" Mavis cried as the clasp fell off her neck.


	2. Chapter 2: Good Bye?

_Notes: Sorry that this took so long to upload. I need to wait for that inspiration you know? XD_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

Chapter 2

 **Good bye?**

Natsu and Zeref had just teleported away, leaving Mavis to tell the guild her plan.

"How can we save Natsu!?" Lucy cried.

"You all remember how I was put into a deep slumber by Zeref, correct? What if I did the same to him?" Mavis suggested.

"Didn't you say that you loved each other though and that's what caused it?" Erza asked.

"No, Zeref valued my life and therefore caused his curse to take effect." Mavis explained, "My curse would have to be stimulated as well."

"Then let's go find them!" Gray shouted.

Everyone in the guild stormed out the door after Natsu and Zeref.

"Gajeel, Wendy!" Shouted Erza while she ran, "Can you smell Natsu and Zeref?!"

"Faintly." Gajeel replied.

"Carla, Happy, Lily!" Erza shouted, "Take Lucy, Mavis and Gajeel and go find Natsu!"

"Understood!" Said Carla as she grabbed Mavis, "Let's go!"

"Good luck!" Erza yelled after them.

 **Meanwhile…**

Zeref and Natsu stood In front of each other.

Zeref walked up to Natsu crying.

"I'm so sorry Natsu." Zeref said as he hugged him, "Please forgive me."

Natsu spoke, "I don't blame you for anything. I've seen your pain."

He had seen Zeref's whole life up until this very point.

"I will make sure you die on the first strike." Natsu said.

"Thank you Natsu." Zeref said smiling.

Before both of their deaths Natsu took a moment to reflect on his life.

Not one day ago would Natsu have wished to put his friends through such emotional torment. When Erza attempted to sacrifice her life at the tower of heaven he didn't allow it. When Gray tried to use iced shell on Leone he had to stop him. They probably felt the same way that Natsu did now. He felt like such a hypocrite.

Natsu took a deep breath and rose his hand to strike Zeref, but just then a distance voice caught his attention and he turned his head.

"NATSU!" Lucy cried as Happy hurdled

Lucy toward Natsu.

"Zeref." Natsu whispered, "Teleport away again." But Happy gained ground too fast and practically threw Lucy onto Natsu.

They tumbled backwards. Zeref skidded away and Lucy lay on top of Natsu. She held her head as Luxy quickly came to her senses.

"Natsu listen to me! We found a way to keep you from death and end Zeref in a way!" Lucy shouted.

Intrigued, Zeref asked,"How?"

Mavis, Charle, Gajeel, and Lily landed on the ground beside Happy and Lucy.

"I will end you the way you stopped me long ago." Mavis said.

Without waiting for a response Mavis began trying to conjure up all of her feelings towards her friends.

 _I haven't learned control over the death predation so I have to cause it's activation. I have to remember the value of life even in this war. I am doing this for their survival of everyone! I'M DOING THIS TO STOP THE FIGHTING HERE AND NOW!_

"EVERYONE GET AWAY!" Mavis screeched as she ran towards Zeref.

Natsu stared in shock as Lucy tried to pull him away.

"GO!" Zeref ordered to Natsu. Natsu, then, complied taking Lucy with him.

The wave of death predation surged outwards leaving Mavis panting on the ground and Zeref unconscious.

"It… worked…" Mavis said breathing heavily.

Tears filled Lucy's eyes as a smile stretched across her face and Natsu stood staring at Zeref with a blank look.

"This isn't what he wants…" Natsu mumbled. Only Lucy could hear what he said and her smile instantly faded.

"Natsu," Lucy said, gripping his scaled shoulder, "Zeref can't hurt anyone anymore."

"No." Natsu said, "If he awakens many years from now his horrible life will continue. So I still have a duty to kill him."

Lucy slapped Natsu across the face, "Who are you?!" She screeched. Tears poured down her face, "You have a chance to live! We can deal with that later! The Natsu I know wouldn't give up on living if there was another way!"

Lucy buried her face in her hands and fell to her knees sobbing and Happy ran to her side.

Natsu stared at her in shock.

"Lily you take Zeref to the others and Charle would you please find Mest and bring him to me?" Mavis asked.

"Certainly." Charle replied. The three of them took off.

"Salamander." Gajeel growled, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I-" Natsu started.

"I believe it is because Natsu must have been influenced by some desire to kill Zeref. He has been following Zeref's commands this whole time." Mavis speculated, "Am I correct Natsu?"

"Yes…" Natsu whispered, "When I became E.N.D I gained a lot of Zeref's memory and desires."

"The the only rational way to stop this behavior is to erase those memories." Mavis said.

"That's why you asked for mest." Said Gajeel.

"I can't let you do that." Natsu said. "Even though these desires may have been forced on me they are what I need to do now."

"HOW STUPID ARE YOU?!" Lucy shouted as she grabbed Natsu, "I'm not letting you go! Gajeel help me!"

Gajeel tried to pin down Natsu, but he didn't budge. Natsu started walking when his ear twitched.

"The rest of the guild is here." Natsu said as Erza, Gray, Lisanna, Mirajane, Juvia, Charle, Gildarts, Wendy, and Levy were all headed there way.

"Charle where is Mest?" Mavis called.

"No one has seen him! I looked for him, but the battle field is becoming deadly so I had to retreat. I tried to use Warren's telepathy as well, but we can't contact him!" Charle cried out.

Part of Natsu sighed in relief, but another other side of him, his regular self, felt anguished.

"Not good." Mavis said, "Where's Zeref?"

"With Lily and the other's at the guild. Charle filled us in on the situation." Said Erza.

Erza's eyes landed on Lucy, her face red and her eyes filled with tears as she clung to Natsu.

"You made her cry?" Erza asked Natsu menacingly. This normally would have scared Natsu, but with his new power it didn't.

Natsu stared at Erza. _He is not normal. Physically sure, but his personality isn't the same. Perhaps Zeref's mental change did more that it seemed._

"There is one other option." Mavis said.

Natsu's eyes immediately snapped to stare at Mavis.

"I know a memory spell, but it's strong and I have never used it." Said Mavis

"Use it." Said Gray, "I know our Natsu would want that too."

"I am right here Gray." Natsu said, "I'm still me."

"No you aren't." Said Gray unwavering.

Lucy spoke up, "Use the spell Mavis."

Mavis nodded and she outstretched her hand to use the spell. A white magic circle appeared on Natsu.

Lucy let go of Natsu as he backed up in instinctual shock.

"See you again after you wake up." Lucy said and in a flash as the spell took effect.

N/A: Anyone else freaking out over the end of chapter 502? Can't wait for chapter 503 of Fairy Tail! :D


	3. Chapter 3: Erased

_A/N: I was re-reading this chapter and I had to edit something, but it's nothing that would change the story, so that's why I reposted it, working on chapter 6 BTW._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters_

 **Chapter 3**

Erased

After Zeref had been defeated the Alveraz empire retreated leaving the guild to Fairy Tail.

Natsu lay in the Fairy Tail infirmary with Lucy by his side.

Mavis used a new spell to erase the memory of Natsu, when Mest could not be found, and this had caused him to be bedridden.

Natsu's etherious form seemed to have died down. His horns were now tiny little things and his scales and black marks of fire had almost vanished from his skin, leaving his hands the way they used to be and all that was left of his tail and wings were the rips in his clothing.

Lucy stroked one of his horns, a sad look in her eyes. She had said such cruel things to Natsu, but she would even be able to apologize because he wouldn't remember it. However the thing she hated the most was that Natsu would not remember his confession to her.

Lucy wished to ask Mavis how long he would sleep for, but as soon as the war ended she told them she had to leave for their own safety and disappeared. The worry in her heart kept her chained to Natsu's side so, as sleep took her, she fell asleep on his chest.

3 days later...

Natsu's eyes slowly began to blink open. _Where am I?_ Natsu thought.

He tried to move but something heavy and warm held him down. Natsu looked at his chest. There, a young blond girl slept on his chest. Natsu sniffed her. _She smells so comforting. I wonder who is she?_ Natsu thought.

Lucy opened her eyes only to see Natsu staring at her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out as she hugged him.

Natsu was shocked that this girl was hugging him so tightly, but her voice and her scent were so familiar and warm that he hugged back.

"I'm so glad you're awake! I'll have to go tell everyone!" Lucy said as she began to stand.

"Wait!" Natsu said, "Could you please tell me your name?"

"Don't joke with me Natsu!" Lucy laughed.

"No… I don't know who you are." Natsu said eyes down.

That one statement broke Lucy's world.

"Y.. You don't k.. Know me?" Lucy asked her voice barely audible even to Natsu's ears.

"I'm sorry." Natsu said, "I don't know you…"

Shock took over Lucy and she fell to the floor. Natsu quickly pulled the covers off of himself and he rushed to catch her.

"Woah, woah, woah are you okay?" Natsu asked concerned. _Why am I so worried about someone I haven't met before?_ He thought.

Lucy held her hands to her face as she screamed,"This can't be real!"

Natsu didn't know what to do so he tried to let go.

"No! Please don't let go." Lucy said as she wrapped her arms around him.

 _What...what am I to her?_ Natsu thought as he held her in his arms.

"Lucy! Is everything okay?!" Gray shouted as he busted through the door

Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head.

Natsu looked up from Gray to Lucy. _So her name is Lucy…_ Natsu thought.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted happily, "You're awake!"

 _Another person I don't know…_ Thought Natsu. He sniffed the air. Like Lucy, Gray smelled like a friend to Natsu, but the feelings it gave him weren't as comforting..

Natsu opened his mouth to speak, but Lucy started talking, "Gray… Natsu doesn't seem to remember anything…"

"That's good, isn't it?" Gray asked.

Lucy shook her head, "you don't understand Gray. Natsu doesn't remember anyone or anything…"

Gray looked at Natsu in shock.

"Come on man you can't be serious." Gray said shakily.

Natsu looked at Lucy who was now squeezing his hand.

"I'm sorry I only remember my name…" Natsu said sadly. He could tell these people were close friends to him.

Gray sat down on the bed.

"This can't be happening… We told Mavis to use the spell…" Gray said, distraught.

"If we hadn't he'd be dead!" Lucy shouted.

 _Dead?_ Natsu thought.

"Hey Lucy… What is this place?" Natsu asked.

"The Fairy Tail wizard guild, your guild." Lucy told him.

"What's a wizard guild? Natsu said cocking his head to the side.

"Oh jeez…" Natsu heard Gray say.

"A guild is a place where wizards work with magic to make a living, but we're also a family and you're a part of that Natsu." Lucy said warmly.

Natsu was still a little confused, but he smiled in reply anyway.

"Am I a wizard then?" Natsu asked.

"Yes and you were, and maybe still are, very strong." Lucy told him.

"Not as strong as me though." Gray smirked.

"No way Natsu was totally stronger that you!" Lucy retaliated.

"Did I like… Have some kind of rivalry with him?" Natsu asked a little confused. He kind of got a sense of that their relationship must have been like that, but he didn't know.

"Definitely! When I first you guys met Erza had to keep you from beating each other up! And you still do that today!"

"Jeez.." Natsu said looking at gray. "Oh who's Erza?"

"She's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail! And one of our very close comrades!"

"This is going to be hard… Meeting everyone again, that is." Natsu sighed.

Lucy put a hand on Natsu's shoulder, "It'll be okay Natsu."

Just then Happy flew into the room carrying Natsu scarf, "Hey I heard talking in here. Is Natsu awake?"

Happy's eyes then fell on Natsu below him and he rushed down to his friend.

"Natsuuu!" Happy cried out as he hugged Natsu

Natsu gently hugged back, but he looked at Lucy for help.

Lucy spoke so softly she was sure only Natsu could hear it, "That's Happy he's one of your best friends. Don't worry I'll tell him."

"Natsu I have your scarf!" Happy said as he handed Natsu the scarf.

"T… Thanks." Natsu said nervously.

"Natsu?" Happy asked, now worried.

Natsu looked at his feet.

"Happy…" Lucy started, "Natsu… Natsu doesn't…"

"Natsu doesn't what?" Happy asked.

"Natsu… doesn't… remember us…" Lucy finished.

Happy's face lost color, "What…?"

"We think the spell was too strong…" Gray added.

"There… There has to be a way to fix it, right?!" Happy demanded.

"Maybe if we reverse the spell…" Lucy said quietly.

"Then let's go talk to Levy!" Happy shouted.

Natsu hated this. He hated seeing these people depressed.

"Come on Natsu." Lucy said as she extended her hand towards him, "Let's go find a way to get your memory back!"

Natsu nodded his head now determined.

As all four of them began to walk out of the infirmary a little voice in Natsu's head said, "I'm all fired up!"

* * *

 _A/N: I know this chapter took forever to put out. It's hard writing two stories and doing school. Anyway if anyone has any idea's or preferences of where they want the story to go please let me know! I don't have a definite ending and I would appreciate the help! Thank you for reading! :)_


	4. Chapter 4: Ready

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters._

 _A/N: Sorry this took so long to put out! :p_

 **Chapter 4**

Ready

Gray, Happy, Lucy, and Natsu walked out into the main area of the guild hall.

Everyone in the guild saw Natsu and their faces lit up and everyone ran over to them.

"Natsu! I'm so glad you're up!" Wendy smiled, "And you got your scarf!"

Natsu realized he was still holding the scarf and he quickly wrapped it around his neck.

Now, surrounded by his guildmates, Natsu gave Wendy a nervous smile as people continued to crowd around him.

Seeking guidance, Natsu turned to Lucy "Hey Lu-" Natsu was cut off as Gajeel punched him, sending Natsu flying into the wall.

"Gajeel!" Shouted Levy, "What are you doing!?"

"He needed a good old fashioned beating for earlier." Gajeel said, smirking.

Natsu stood back up raring to go, "The hell was that for!?"

"Payment." Gajeel said taunting Natsu

Gildarts chuckled off to the side.

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu said fuming.

Lucy's eyes brightened and she burst out laughing.

"Lucy?" Natsu said as everyone looked at her in confusion.

Lucy wiped a tear from her eye as she tried to stop laughing, "I'm- I'm okay!"

Natsu just gave her a confused look and shook his head.

 _Natsu's still the same even though he doesn't remember us._ Lucy thought happily, but then she sighed, as she remembered she still had to tell the guild about Natsu's memory Loss.

"Hey everyone, can you be quiet, please… I have something to tell you all." Lucy said.

"Lucy I can-" Once again Natsu was cut off.

"It's fine Natsu." Lucy said, "Everyone... Natsu… Natsu has no memory left of us... or apparently anything, but his name…"

A moment of silence washed over the guild as people looked at Natsu in disbelief, until Gajeel and Gildarts broke the silence.

"No way…" Gildarts said.

"I don't believe it." Gajeel said scoffing, "Does spikey head over here look like he forgot us? He's acting totally normal."

"What'd you call me!?" Natsu demanded.

"No… He did seem kind of nervous a second ago…" Said Charle.

Makarov stared at Natsu sadly.

"It's true guys." Gray said sadly.

"I thought we were over the sad talk!" Natsu said annoyed.

"You move on way too quickly Natsu..." Lucy sighed.

Erza walked up to Natsu, "You aren't joking? You have truly no memory of us?"

Natsu looked Erza in the eyes, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you."

Erza held out her hand, "In that case, I'm Erza."

Natsu took her hand and she flipped him over, hard, onto the ground.

"AHHH! What the hell?!" Natsu shouted.

Gray winced.

"You aren't allowed to forget us!" Erza said Glaring at him.

Natsu looked up at Erza, sheepishly, from the floor, "Scary…" He muttered under his breath…

Then as Natsu looked at Erza he saw sorrow in her eyes.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… But until I can remember let's be friends, okay?"

Erza grabbed him into a hug, "Of course Natsu."

Erza began to let go when she noticed Natsu's horns, a confused look appeared in her eyes.

She lifted her hand up and poked one, it felt hard like stone, but was smooth and almost… soft.

"What the heck?!" Natsu said pushing her off as he swatted her hand away. He wasn't expecting that feeling. Natsu hadn't had horns very long and hadn't experienced anything like that before.

Erza turned to Lucy and questioned her, "He has horns?"

Lucy had an exasperated look on her face and she put her palm on her forehead, "How did you not notice until now?"

Erza's face went red.

Natsu hadn't noticed either. He reached up and touched one of his horns. _Wait… Why DO I have horns?_ He thought.

"Hey um Lucy… why do I have horns?" Natsu asked.

Lucy looked at her guildmates for guidance. Gray and some others nodded.

"Well um… Natsu… We found out… that...you're a… well... a…um… demon…" Lucy forced out.

"What?" Natsu said, baffled, "How would you know that?"

"It was actually you who told us…" Lucy continued. A confused look plastered Natsu's face.

"But you'd only learned that, like a couple of days prior to you telling us." Gray added.

"But we don't care!" Said Wendy, smiling.

"Ya!" Agreed Happy as he landed on Natsu's head, grabbing his horns.

Natsu shuddered at the feeling, "Don't do that it feels so weird!" He complained.

Happy giggled, "Sorry!"

Lucy smiled, once again determined to get Natsu's memory back right away and then said, "So anyway, we think we need to undo the spell to get his memory back."

"Ya," Said Gray, "Levy do you think you could undo it?"

"I would have to know the spell to do that." Replied Levy

"Besides that," Said Erza, "I don't think it would be a good idea. If we undid the spell Natsu would regain ALL of his memories."

 _Why don't they want that to happen?_ Thought Natsu.

"Then what do we do?" Said Lucy.

Lily spoke up, "I believe the solution is obvious. The original plan was to have Mest use a memory altering spell on Natsu, but because we couldn't find him Mavis had to resort to the spell that wiped Natsu's memory."

"Okay?" Said gray, "And?"

"Let him talk Gray." Gajeel said.

Gray glared at Gajeel.

"Anyway." Said Lily, "I believe that we must find Mest and Mavis."

"Of course!" Said Erza, "We will find Mest then find Mavis. Mavis will tell us the spell, Levy will undo it, and then Mest will erase Natsu's unwanted memories!"

"That's perfect!" Said Lucy, clapping her hands together.

"..." Natsu didn't say anything. _What are they talking about…? Why did they want to wipe my memory? Did it… Did it have something to do with me being a demon? What are they hiding from me?_

"Natsu are you ready to do this?" Lucy asked happily, but she saw the hurt and confusion in his eyes.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" Lucy asked, concerned.

"I… *sigh*...what's going on?" Natsu asked.

"What do you mean Natsu?" Lucy asked, confused.

"Fill me in. Why was my memory erased?" Natsu asked everyone.

Lucy looked at Gray and he nodded.

Lucy sighed, "Okay…"

Lucy then proceeded to tell Natsu a less detailed version of what happened 3 nights ago. She left out his confession and the emotional pain he caused them.

"Thank you Lucy." Natsu said. He then reached up and touched one of his horns, but it didn't feel nearly as weird. He guessed that it was like being tickled, you can't tickle yourself.

"No problem Natsu." Lucy said smiling.

 _It feels wrong… me being a demon, I guess... anyone would…_ Natsu thought.

"I'm ready to go find Mest and… Mavis, was it?" Natsu said.

"Yep! She was the guild's first master!" happy told Natsu.

Natsu nodded, "So who's coming with?"

"Count me in!" Lucy shouted, smiling.

"I've got you're back flame brain." Gray smirked.

"I'll come along as well!" Said Wendy, cheerfully.

"I guess that means I am coming as well." Said Charle.

"I'll gladly come with." Smiled Erza.

"And don't forget me!" Shouted happy.

Gajeel put his arm around Natsu and grinned, "Gotta keep you out of trouble."

"Then count me in as well." Said Lily.

"I think I have to come." Levy smiled.

"Then we're coming too!" Said Jet and Troy in unison.

"Nope," Said Gajeel, "Too many people."

"No, Levy!" Jet and Troy shouted.

"Sorry guys, maybe next time." Levy said shyly.

Natsu grinned, "Alright! Let's do this guys!"

From behind them Makarov did the Fairy Tail hand symbol as he shouted, "Good luck kids, stay alive for me will ya?"

Natsu looked back and smiled, "We will!"

And so the 10 of them set out on their journey.

 _A/N: I could not think of a better chapter name than ready... Someone please help me... ;-;_


	5. Chapter 5: Prisoner

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 _A/N: Sorry about any possible grammer errors it's 12:50 am and I have school tomorrow_

 **Chapter 5**

Prisoner

A man was chained to a wall deep below the ground…

A woman tormented him…

The woman spoke, her words filled with venom, as she grabbed the man by the chin, "It's too bad you're the only fly that we could grab a hold of."

The man bore daggers into her eyes, she grinned.

"You'll be my slave." The woman said menacingly, "Too bad you were the only one to get caught… I would loved to have others!"

The man continued to glare. He couldn't speak.

The women gazed coldly at the man, "If you weren't so noisy I wouldn't have to have gotten rid of it."

The man looked ready to kill.

"You can still make some noise…" The woman said maliciously, "...but if you make even a peep I'll take something else."

A bell rang in the distance. A click was heard and a metal collar seemed to appear in the woman's hand.

The man flinched, _Not again!_ He thought.

The man struggled against his chains as the woman put the collar around his neck.

Another click was heard, the man's cuffs came off.

"It's time." She grinned evilly.

They walked up… up so many stairs. Every time the man tried to run the collar electrocuted him.

They continued to walk until the reached a balcony.

Below a crowd of hundreds of thousands cried out with hatred.

The woman began to shout, "THIS MAN IS PART OF THE GROUP WHO TOOK OUR EMPEROR AWAY!"

The crowd shouted in anger at the man.

"HE IS THE ONLY ONE WE COULD TAKE AND FOR THAT HE WILL BARE ALL OF THEIR PUNISHMENTS!" The woman continued.

The crowd shouted in excitement.

"NOW HOW SHALL WE PUNISH THE FAIRY TAIL FLY, MEST GRYDER!?" The woman shouted her eyes shining with anticipation.

 **Back in at the Fairy Tail guild hall...**

The 10 Fairy Tail members walked out of the guild only to remember they were on a cliff top…

Sweat dripped down everyone's face, but Natsu's, who didn't remember the old landscape.

"So guys…" Natsu started, "Where are we going to look for this Mest guy first?"

Silence struck the group.

"Do we even know where we are relative to anywhere else!?" Gray yelled out, breaking the silence.

Everyone hung their heads, but Natsu just looked at them all with confusion.

"He was last seen in this area…" Charle said.

"... but he could be anywhere now!" Wendy finished distraughtly.

"Well we might as well start walking…" Erza said.

"Where?!" Lucy said gesturing to the cliff.

Happy flew up next to Lucy, "We can carry you guys down, but Lucy might be too heavy for any of us!"

Natsu chuckled.

"I swear cat I will kill you!" Lucy promised angrily.

(Insert barrier line here)

 **Once everyone was down the cliff…**

"The terrain is so crazy…" Lucy said in shock.

"What's so different about it?" Natsu asked.

"Well for one," Lucy said, "This used to be a city next to an ocean. Also it was surrounded by mountains and forests."

"Jeez." Natsu said as he took in the rocky landscape around him.

"Should we split up?" Charle asked out of nowhere.

"Why?" Erza question.

"We have no idea where Mest is and we would probably be able to find him better if we-" Charle's explanation was cut off.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia called out from the distance.

Everyone turned their heads, "Juvia?!" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Where's everyone going?!" Juvia asked, as she got closer to the group.

Juvia then saw Natsu, "Juvia is so glad you are awake Natsu!"

"Thanks." Natsu said, a little confused by her third person talk.

Gray walked up to Juvia, "I was wondering where you were-"

Juvia cut Gray off, "Gray-sama was worried about Juvia!?" With hearts in her eyes Juvia almost fainted.

Gray sighed in frustration, "Let me finish... We are going to get Natsu's memory back, you probably would have come with, but you weren't in the guild hall."

"Didn't everyone want Natsu's memories to go away?" Juvia asked in confusion.

"Yes, but he forgot too much, everything in fact." Gray answered.

"Oh no!" Juvia gasped, "Is Natsu okay?!"

"I'm fine." Natsu answered.

Juvia nodded, "Okay well then Juvia is coming with!"

"Alright!" Lucy said.

"Hey Juvia why weren't you in the guild hall?" Levy asked.

"Juvia was going out to check the landscape, because Juvia had nothing else to do." Juvia told them, "Juvia told Mira and Master, but maybe they forgot."

"Well it doesn't matter now." Wendy smiled.

"Anyway… What were we talking about before Juvia arrived?" Lucy asked.

"Splitting up." Charle reminded them.

"Well if we're splitting up I'm going with Natsu!" Lucy proclaimed, blushing, as she grabbed his

arm.

"Me too!" Happy added.

Levy giggled, "I'll go with Gajeel then."

"I guess." Gajeel said, embarrassed.

"I know which group I'm with then." Lily said.

"Juvia is going with Gray-SA~MA!" Juvia sang.

Gray sighed, "Alright." He didn't expect anything else anymore.

Lucy put her finger on her chin and thought, "Hmm that means Erza, Wendy, and Charle are in a group!"

"Fine with me!" Wendy smiled.

"I have no problem with that either." Erza said warmly.

"So how will we stay in contact?" Charle asked.

"I'll go get some communication lacrimas!" Happy announced.

"Thanks!" Lucy called out.

 **A few minutes later…**

"I'm back!" Happy sang. He handed each group a Lacrama.

"Alright everybody," Erza said, "It's about time we head out. Remember to contanct everyone if you find anything."

"Understood." Gray said.

Finally, everybody parted ways.

 **Natsu, Lucy, and Happy's group:**

As the group walked Lucy thought about Natsu and felt strangely… protective... of him. She has accepted how deeply she felt for him after his confession and the feeling only seemed to grow.

Lucy turned and gazed warmly at him as we walked, bearing a grin. She didn't mind his horns and the little bit of scales left behind; she wouldn't even really care if he was still completely in his etherious form. The only thing that bothered her were his slitted, blood red, eyes; the comforting black and green gone.

As she gazed at him, lost in thought, Natsu realized she was staring at him so he spoke up, "Lucy?"

Lucy snapped out of her thought, flustered she said, "Oh sorry Natsu I was just spacing out!"

Happy was quite tempted to tease her, but he refrained for once.

"Lucy…" Natsu asked almost sadly, "Was I scary? In my etherious form, I mean."

Lucy knew he wasn't scary, even then, it was more tragic…

"No." Lucy answered firmly, "While you were quite surprising to look at I wasn't scared of you."

"That's a… relief…" Natsu said, sounding confused.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I have emotions for things I can't remember and it's just… confusing." Natsu sighed.

Happy landed on Natsu to comfort him. Natsu smiled.

"Don't worry you'll remember us once we find Mest and Mavis." Lucy promised, "Also Zeref is out of commission so we don't have to worry about him."

Natsu flinched ever so slightly as a feeling burned deep inside him. He pretended that he was imagining it, but he knew he was in denial; Lucy had explained his actions previously and even then the emotion stirred. He didn't remember the feeling, but he knew it must be the desire to kill Zeref...

 _N/A: Oh my golly goodness a chapter is actually out O-O_


	6. Chapter 6: Stirring

_A/N: I'm changing the spelling of Charle to Carla cause reasons._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters._

 **Chapter 6**

Stirring

 _Natsu flinched ever so slightly as a feeling burned deep inside him. He pretended that he_ _was imagining it, but he knew he was in denial; Lucy had explained his actions_

 _previously and_ _even then the emotion stirred. He didn't remember the feeling, but he knew it must be the desire_ _to kill Zeref…_

* * *

Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had been walking for hours and Lucy's feet were well about to give out on her.

"Natsu! Happy! Can we take a break? Please?!" Lucy begged.

Happy landed on Natsu's head for a rest while saying, "I second that!"

"What are you tired for?! You're flying!" Lucy said annoyed.

"My wings hurt!" Happy whined.

"I swear! You are so lazy!" Lucy said angrily.

"I don't mind." Natsu said, "That is happy being on my head or us taking a break."

"Oh thank god!" Lucy said sitting down and completely forgetting about Happy annoying her.

Natsu chuckled.

.

.

.

 **With Erza, Wendy, and Carla…**

"The Alveraz Empire is in this direction…" Erza said to herself.

But with her good hearing Wendy most certainly heard her.

"Don't we want to avoid that place?" Wendy asked nervously.

"Agreed." Carla said, "I've had enough of that place for a lifetime."

"No, I have this gut feeling that's where we need to go to find mest." Erza said.

"Uh… Alright..." Wendy said, unsure.

"I guess it could be fine." Carla said, "But any serious danger and we're leaving!"

"That's fine." Erza said.

.

.

.

 **With Gray and Juvia…**

"How on Earth are we going to find them?" Gray sighed.

"With love!" Juvia said romantically.

"Quit it. I'm being serious." Gray said, annoyed.

"Juvia is sorry Gray-sama." Juvia said glumly.

"It's fine. Anyway, the first master couldn't have gotten that far…" Gray said. "She was carrying Zeref."

"She's still cursed right?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah." Gray answered, "That's why she left, remember?"

"Yes, Juvia just wanted to make sure because since she's still cursed couldn't we look for signs of the curse, like the dead trees and stuff?" Juvia suggested.

"Of course!" Gray said, "How come I didn't think of that?!"

"We've got a plan! I helped Gray-sama make a plan and he liked it!" Juvia sang Happily.

Gray sighed.

.

.

.

 **With Levy, Gajeel, and Lily…**

"We aren't finding diddly squat!" Gajeel complained.

"We haven't gone very far Gajeel." Levy said.

"Agreed, it will probably take time to find what we are looking for." Lily said.

"I just have to pick up the scent of the first, Zeref, or Mest and it'll be smooth sailing." Gajeel said confidently.

"Well we have to be on their trail to really do that." Levy said, laughing.

"You saying my sniffer isn't good enough?!" Gajeel demanded.

"No Mr. Sniffer works plenty well!" Levy teased.

Gajeel rested his arms on Levy's head and said, "Oh look! The perfect height!"

"Gajeel!" Levy complained.

Lily laughed under his breath, "Come on you two love birds, we need to get moving."

Levy blushed and pushed Gajeel's arms off of her, "R-Right!"

Gajeel just smirked and said, "Alright."

.

.

.

 **5 hours since the group left…**

It was night now and Lucy and Happy lay asleep while Natsu sat restless.

 _Dammit!_ Natsu thought. _This feeling got so much stronger after I acknowledged it! But… everyone in the guild, they're working so hard for me, so the least I could do is stay… right?_

As Natsu struggled to make this choice he gripped the ground tightly, maybe in a futile attempt to keep himself there, nonetheless he made his grip on the ground all the tighter. If someone had been watching they would say it looked like he was in pain.

Natsu waited for almost an hour in this torment, as the desire steadily rose.

"It's rising so fast…" Natsu muttered nervously.

 _I've got to go, I've got to go, I've got to go… I have to kill him…_ Natsu thought restlessly. _Nothing's more important right now!_

"No!" Natsu shouted in denial.

"AHHH!" Happy screamed, startled awake by Natsu's shout.

"Wha- What's going on?" Lucy said groggily.

When Lucy opened her eyes and they landed on Natsu she let out yelp.

"What?" Natsu asked, nervously.

Not only did Natsu look… not good, but this etherious form seemed to be coming back. While he still didn't have wings or a tail, his horns had grown and the markings and scales on his body had spread.

Lucy ran over to him and worriedly said, "What happened?! You're etherious form is coming back!"

Natsu didn't really know what to say, he didn't know for sure how or why his etherious form came back. Natsu wanted be honest and tell Lucy that he thought it was his murderous thoughts bringing it back, but he was also worried. Would they just erase his memories again if he told them how he felt about Zeref? While they had no one who could do that at the moment, Natsu had forgotten.

"I don't really know…" Natsu said, it was partially true, he couldn't, really, explain his etherious form.

Lucy hugged Natsu and said, "You'll be fine. D-Don't worry."

"A-Alright…" Natsu said. Although Natsu felt guilty for worrying her, he needed to go to Zeref, he needed to kill him…

"We'll find Mavis soon and then everything will go back to normal." Lucy assured.

"Normal…" Natsu sighed quietly. This was his normal, he didn't know about this over version of himself. All he knew was his current self, and what he wanted to do now.

"Mavis has Zeref, right?" Natsu asked nervously.

"Yeah." Lucy told him.

 _Then I'll kill him once he's found. I can wait… Can't I?_ Natsu asked himself.

.

.

.

 **Elsewhere…**

A man sat, beaten on the floor of a cage.

 _I have to get out of here…_ He thought. However he knew the only way would be with help, so all he could do was Pray.

 _Please Fairy Tail… Come soon. I can't get out of here by myself… I need your help…_

.

.

.

 **With Erza, Wendy and Carla…**

"Shouldn't we go to sleep?" Wendy asked, yawning.

"It would be best to go into Alveraz under the cover of night." Erza said.

"How do you know for sure that this is the right decision?" Carla asked.

"I don't, but it's what we're doing." Erza said.

"Why don't we rest and go tomorrow night?" Wendy suggested.

"We could do that…" Erza said, considering the option.

"We could also come up with a strategy and back up plans for what we should do if Mest isn't there." Carla added.

"Very well." Erza said, "Go ahead and get some rest. We'll strike tomorrow."

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry that this chapter was kind of short. I tried ;-;_


	7. Chapter 7: Trouble

_A/N: I apologize this chapter took longer than usual to put out. I got some pretty bad writers_

 _block, but here it is now and I hope it was worth the wait._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters._

 **Chapter 7**

Trouble

" _Why don't we rest and go [to Alveraz] tomorrow night?" Wendy suggested._

" _We could do that…" Erza said, considering the option._

" _We could also come up with a strategy and back up plans for what we should do if Mest isn't there." Carla added._

" _Very well." Erza said, "Go ahead and get some rest. We'll strike tomorrow."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

The night had finally passed and everyone was on the move again…

Gray and Juvia walked while hoping that they would find any sign of Mavis's curse.

"Do you know where we're heading towards?" Gray asked.

Juvia shook her head and said, "Sorry Gray-sama, Juvia couldn't tell you."

"Do you think we're at least still heading south?" Gray sighed.

"Juvia would think so?" Juvia responded, confused.

 _God I hope we didn't get lost already…_ Gray said annoyed.

.

.

.

 **With Natsu's group…**

Lucy looked worriedly at Natsu. His etherious form seemed to only have worsened and now he had this nervous energy about him.

"N-Natsu are you okay?" Lucy asked.

Natsu muttered, "Yeah yeah I'm fine…"

Happy and Lucy looked at each other with concern.

"Do you want to take a break?" Happy asked.

"No!" Natsu said, almost panicking.

"Why?" Lucy asked, nervous.

"S-sorry…" Natsu stuttered, "I'm just really… on edge. I… um… had a nightmare."

 _That was a horrible lie._ Natsu thought.

"Natsu that was so obviously fake." Lucy sighed.

Natsu didn't saying anything in his defense.

Worriedly, Lucy gingerly grabbed Natsu's hand and said, "Listen… I'm… I know you don't have to tell me what's bothering you, but I've just been really worried about you. I

want to see you safe and happy…"

"Lucy…" Natsu muttered in surprise. _Really… What was I to her?_

"S-sorry that sounded weird!" Lucy said, flustered.

Happy giggled.

"N-no it's fine." Natsu assured, "And don't worry about me, I'll be okay."

"It's just… I don't know…" Lucy sighed, "I have this really awful thought…"

Happy looked at Lucy worriedly.

"What is it?" Natsu asked.

"I… Do you think I did the wrong thing… saving you Natsu?" Lucy asked, distraught.

Happy's jaw dropped and Natsu hastily said, "N-no! I mean you said I wasn't in my right mind!"

"That's the thing… you even told me you were just influenced by a desire to kill Zeref, but I feel like I was just in denial…" Lucy said sadly.

"Lucy…" Natsu whispered.

"I also said all those mean things to you and I… I can't believe I did that! I just… really don't want you to leave me..." Lucy cried, "I'm so selfish!"

"H-hey it- it's okay..." Natsu said, as we walked over and embraced her. Happy joined the hug too.

"Lucy you know he wasn't acting normal, I saw him too." Happy said, after we seperated.

"I know I know, but he also did act normal… Happy when he said goodbye to us he was normal, right?" Lucy asked.

"Actually… yeah…" Happy said, shocked.

"I was?" Natsu asked, confused.

"...When you said goodbye the only difference, besides the way looked was that… you were sad…" Lucy said quietly.

Natsu's eyes widened. _That makes sense! I still have the urge to go kill Zeref, but, according to what everyone has been saying, I don't think my personality has changed at all_

 _since I woke up!_

"...But Lucy," Happy said, "Back then Natsu, himself, told us that he was being controlled by Zeref's memories and desires."

"That's true." Lucy said.

 _No._ Natsu thought. _That can't be right, I don't remember anything about Zeref, not even what he looks like! So then… could I have been deluding myself or perhaps... just lying_

 _to them?_

"Also," said Happy, "Maybe, once he opened the book, Zeref's memories made the feeling stronger over time, so he was normal at the beginning."

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up Happy..." Lucy said warmly, "And Natsu… I'm really really sorry for even suggesting that."

"Don't worry about that." Natsu said instinctively; He wasn't listening to the conversation anymore.

 _Maybe I did have his memories then, but they should be erased now, right? Beside… this feeling I have doesn't make me feel like I'm being controlled, it's more like… I don't_

 _know, a basic instinct._

Lucy gasped.

"What is it?!" Natsu asked in surprise.

"Your book Natsu!" Lucy said.

"My book? Do you mean the one you said I opened before?" Natsu asked.

"Yes!" Lucy said.

"Okay? What about it?" Natsu questioned.

"I don't know where it is!" Lucy said, panicking.

"Oh no!" Happy shouted, realizing how bad the situation was.

"Why is it so important?!" Natsu demanded.

"Your life is connected to that book!" Happy said, "One time Zeref shot it and you got hurt too!"

Natsu's eyes widened.

"I don't even think we took it back to the guild!" Lucy said, frustrated, "I. Am. Such. An. Idiot."

"Well we really should go get it then." Happy said nervously.

"The book should still be at the place where Natsu tried to kill Zeref." Lucy said, "And since we're heading southeast-ish from the guild hall, and everything went down south of

guild hall, if we start heading right from here we'll probably be around the same area in half a day, I think."

"We're still going to find Mavis though, right?" Natsu asked hastily.

Natsu was working on acting a little more calmly, but the urge was still gnawing at him.

"Yeah of course!" Lucy assured, believing Natsu just wanted to get his memories back.

Natsu sighed in relief.

"Alright then let's get going!" Happy said.

"Right!" Lucy agreed.

.

.

.

 **With Levy's group…**

"We haven't found anything…" Levy sighed.

"That's what I was saying yesterday!" Gajeel said.

"Why don't we decide on one goal." Lily said.

"Don't we already have one goal?" Gajeel asked.

"I mean like picking to either find Mavis and Zeref or Mest." Lily explained.

"Of course!" Levy exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Ummm," Said Gajeel, "I don't know then… Maybe let's look for Mest?"

"That works for me!" Levy said.

"Alright at least are attention won't be split anymore." Lily remarked without much hope.

.

.

.

 **With Gray's group many many hours later…**

"The ground looks really flat up ahead." Juvia commented.

"Oh! I just realized, we're at the place Mavis stopped Zeref and Natsu!" Gray said.

"Juvia wonders if Mavis went this way." Juvia said.

"Same." Gay said.

As they got closer, Gray noticed something in the middle of the clearing.

"Hey what's that?" Gray asked, wondered out loud.

Juvia looked around until her eyes landed on the object and she said, "It almost looks like… a book?"

Gray gasped and started sprinting to it.

"W-Wait up Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted as she started running after him.

Once she caught up with him Gray had already picked up the book.

"What is it?" Juvia asked, panting.

"Look," Gray said, "It's the book of E.N.D."

"What's it doing all the way out here?" Juvia asked in surprise.

"I think we must have forgotten to grab it, but really, how did we do that?" Gray asked with a little humor in his voice.

"Well you guys were really distracted by Natsu…" Juvia trailed off.

"It doesn't matter anyway, but we better hang on to it." Gray said.

"Juvia agrees." Juvia said.

"Alright then, let's go." Gray said.

The pair walked for a little longer before seeing a group cross the path ahead.

"Ah, is that Natsu?" Gray wondered out loud, they were pretty far away.

Before Juvia could respond, Natsu's head turned in their direction and he pointed at them.

"That gave Juvia a heart attack…" Juvia said.

"Yeah." Gray muttered.

The three started head towards them. Gray and Juvia were on edge until the group got closer and they could clearly see it was Natsu's group.

"Hey guys!" Lucy shouted.

"Did you guys stop going the right way or did we?" Gray asked, laughing a little.

"It was us." Happy said, "A while ago we realized we didn't have Natsu's book and thought we should probably go get it!"

"Got that covered." Gray said, holding up the book of E.N.D

"That's great!" Lucy said happily.

"It looks kind of beat up." Natsu said worriedly.

"Don't worry it's been that way as long as I can remember." Lucy said.

Gray turned towards Natsu, now actually getting a good look at him. His horns were definitely larger and the black marks and scales had definitely spread a lot more around his

body.

"Uh what happened?" Gray asked, gesturing at Natsu.

Lucy looked worriedly at Natsu for a second and then said, "His etherious form started coming back, but not even he seems to know why."

Guilt flashed across Natsu's face and Gray caught it, but he didn't saying anything.

"Hopefully, that's not a bad sign." Gray said with suspicion, "Anyway, do one of you want to hold on to the book?"

Happy spoke up, "I can! If you're okay with that Natsu. I can keep it in my bag!"

"Um sure Happy, I don't mind." Natsu said.

"So… Should we travel together?" Juvia asked.

"I mean we could, but we would cover less ground." Lucy said.

"It's fine," Gray said, "Besides you guys might just get lost. If we turn around and go straight there is a pretty high chance we'll find the guild, but it'll be harder for you if you

head back from a random direction."

"I think I get it." Happy said.

"Okay then, "Juvia said enthusiastically, "Let's go!"

.

.

.

 **With Erza's group…**

"Okay," Erza said, "I should have something we could all use for disguises."

"Right!" Wendy agreed.

"Now remember," Carla said, "We want to _avoid_ any fighting. We won't be able to do much by ourselves."

"Very well." Erza said.

Erza made a few cloaks appear, somehow having one in both Wendy and Carla's size.

"Alright," Erza said, "Put these on."

The three girls proceeded to put on the cloaks.

"If we move fast we should reach Alvarez just as night falls. Then we'll be ready to strike." Erza instructed.

"Why didn't we just leave earlier?" Carla asked in annoyance.

"Um…" Erza muttered, "It's cooler this way…"

Carla sighed and Wendy laughed nervously.

"Let's go." Erza said, still a little embarrassed, "And make sure to keep you magic

The three began to quickly head towards Alvarez.

.

.

.

 **Many hours later…**

A little ways before the group of three was a giant, expansive building surrounded by a vast city.

"It feels bigger than last time we were here." Wendy said in awe.

"The spell that messed up the land could have made it bigger." Carla suggested.

"I guess you're right." Wendy agreed.

"Let's head in." Erza said, "We don't have unlimited time."

.

.

.

From the outskirts of the city, the group moved in towards what could only be called a castle, but it wasn't quiet; The streets were bustling with late night activity.

"It's so lively here." Erza commented.

"Yeah…" Wendy agreed, amazed.

As the group walked, Carla heard a man say, "You're telling me that you didn't hear that Lady Dimaria is holding another Retribution tonight?!"

Carla grabbed Wendy's cloak and whispered, "Listen."

"Another one?" The lady, who the man was talking to, said nervously.

The man grimaced, "By the way you sound it's like you don't want revenge for our Emperor."

The lady replied frantically, "N-No! That's not it!"

"Then what is the problem?!" The man demanded.

"It's just, even though he's done a terrible thing, I don't think that anyone should be forced to suffer that much…" The lady replied nervously.

"How do you know he didn't do something equally horrible to the Emperor?!" The man asked, banging his fist on the table.

"Well… I guess you could be right…" The lady replied in an unsure manor.

"That settles it!" The man announced, "You're coming with me to the castle when it's time for the Retribution, Marice!"

The woman looked nervous, but agreed, "Cery well."

"Did you hear that all?" Carla asked.

"Yes." Wendy said.

Erza nodded and then said, "We should wait and then follow them."

.

.

.

 **With Natsu and now Gray's group…**

Considering that it was already night, the group had stopped once again to sleep, but not Natsu.

He bit his lip. _What am I supposed to do?_

Natsu was in pain. The desire for so intense when he was left to his own thoughts. As a result, Natsu's claws and tail had begun to grow, but not his wings. The first time Natsu

had transformed it had been quick and painless, but now it slow and it most certainly wasn't pleasant.

Natsu stood up.

"Where are you going?" A voice asked.

Natsu turned around, frantically, and saw that it was Gray. He looked worried, very worried.

 _Was he awake this whole time?!_

"I have to…" Natsu drifted off. _What should I say?_

 _Gray grabbed what was now Natsu's claw and looked like he was about to shout._

Natsu whispered loudly, "Please don't!"

Panic flashed in Natsu's eyes and so Gray whispered, "I woke up because you were making a lot of noise… I was gonna yell at you, but when I saw you… You looked worse than

earlier…"

Natsu pulled his clawed hand out of Gray's grasp and ran; He was frustrated, anxious and jumpy. However, Gray quickly tore after him. "Dammit!" He muttered worriedly.

When they got farther away Natsu stopped and shouted, "I can't do anything about it!"

Gray came to a halt and said, "About what?"

"Just let me go…" Natsu said quietly.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere!" Gray shouted.

"Just let me go kill him!" Natsu shouted. He didn't mean to let Gray know what he was doing, but he couldn't hide it any more.

"W-what…?" Gray whispered.

"Nothing you're trying to do will help!" Natsu screamed, frustrated.

As Natsu screamed he waved his claw forward and a blast of blackened fire came out of it.

.

.

.

 **With Erza's group…**

The group waited near the man and the Lady's table until they got up the leave.

The man spoke enthusiastically, "It should be starting in a bit. Let's head over!"

"Right." The lady said, anxiously.

"Let's go." Erza said, standing up.

The group proceeded to follow them all the way to a giant clearing in the center of the castle.

"There's so many people…" Wendy said. When they looked at the crowd walking in, there had to be at least 100,000 people.

All of the sudden, two lamps lit up on a high perch and everybody started shouting excitedly.

"What's that?!" Erza shouted, trying to be heard.

"I don't know!" Wendy replied loudly, "I can't see!"

Carla picked Wendy up, but once she could see, she screamed.

Because of her enhanced senses, Wendy was able to see that up on that perch was a beaten man.

"That's Mest!" Wendy screeched.

* * *

 _A/N: See you on the flip-side! :)_


	8. Choices

**So, this isn't a new chapter (sorry). This is a rewritten version of chapters one and two. I'll let you all know more about this at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

"It's time to kick ass!" Natsu bellowed as he and the rest of Fairy Tail charged towards the guildhall.

A resounding cry of agreement followed from the rest of his friends as they stormed the building. As the group entered, Natsu took in what was before him; Zeref sat at one of the guilds tables, Mavis sitting ever so close to him with a collar clasped around her neck.

"First!" Natsu called out, but she didn't reply. "Oi! What's wrong! _?_ "

Suddenly, everything around Natsu had frozen. He whipped around, his friends stood just behind him, a sea of angry faces.

A new voice spoke up. "Natsu."

Natsu snapped towards the voice and he growled at the man sitting in their guildhall. " _Zeref!_ You did this didn't you?!" the dragon slayer hissed.

"I did," Zeref confirmed. "but don't worry, they're fine, at least for now anyway."

Natsu shot him a deadly glare and Zeref smiled in amusement.

"My plan is to use her," Zeref continued, gesturing to the blonde beside him. "However I'm willing to give you a chance to do me in first."

"Great." Natsu snarled as he stared coldly at Zeref.

The book of E.N.D. materialized in Zeref's hand. "I want _you_ to open it."

"What?!" Natsu shouted furiously.

Zeref chuckled. "I have another way to fix everything, so this a choice for you to make. However, I must warn you that once this book is opened your demonic instincts will awaken for good."

Zeref tossed the book to Natsu and the pinkette fumbled as he tried to catch it.

He frowned at the tome in his hands. "Why don't I just kill you without opening the stupid book?"

Zeref started to genuinely laugh and Natsu stared in surprise. It took a minute before the black mage was able to curb his outburst. "That's because you can't! Plain and simple. If a normal mage could kill me I would have died a long, long time ago."

Natsu growled. "I can still try."

Zeref sighed. "If you don't open the book I'll just go with my original plan."

Natsu didn't know what Zeref was planning, but he didn't like the look in his eyes at all. "You said it involved the first, what are you going to do?"

Zeref gave him a longing smile. "I'll go back in time and fix everything. You won't die and I'll never be cursed...none of this will ever happen. I'll create a better world."

Shock etched itself across Natsu's face. "Then. . . what about this world?"

"I don't know what'll happen to it...it'll probably just vanish, but that's for the better."

Natsu snarled. "I'm not going to let you do that!" The fire mage prepared to charge, as there was no way he'd let this world be erased.

"Then open the book," Zeref said simply.

Natsu froze. There had to be another way of going about this, but Zeref wasn't even going to let him try! If he didn't open the book, he was sure Zeref would keep his word.

As if Zeref could tell what Natsu was thinking, he smiled and said, "Go on."

Natsu squeezed the book tightly, feeling his own body constrict as well; he gazed down at the battered tome in his hands.

 _There's no way I'm actually going to do this, right?_

The dragon slayer took one look back at his friends before turning back. Shakily, Natsu prepared his hands to open the book, one on each side.

 _If I do this, the best outcome will be everyone, but me, surviving. However, that doesn't matter as long as they're okay in the end._

"You're not giving me much of a choice," Natsu said. He took in a deep breath as he prepared himself for whatever was going to come next.

Zeref smiled back at him eagerly and Natsu exhaled and he opened the book. Suddenly, all reason left Natsu.

 _Kill Zeref! Zeref! Zeref! ZEREF!_

Nothing else could reach Natsu, his demonic instincts taking complete control. He took an impatient step towards his creator, his now blackened flames flaring to life, as he dropped the book in his hands. Then, as quickly as it started, everything stopped. Right after as he dropped the book, it had landed on the ground with a thud, snapping shut. Pain shot through the pinkette as he panted heavily. Zeref frowned at this unlucky development.

"What was. . . that?" Natsu breathed, terror and bewilderment filling his eyes. It was as if he had lost all ability to think and had gained the absolute need to kill. No, that was _exactly_ what it was.

Zeref sighed and materialized the book in his hand. "Your demonic instincts. You still feel them? Don't you?"

Natsu paused and his eyes widened, Zeref was right! Although the call was relatively weaker, it was definitely still there along with a new surge of power.

". . . Yeah."

"Good. . . Now, considering you already opened it once, I can open it this time. I just wanted to know what your choice would be," Zeref explained. "Besides, it didn't work out too well with you dropping it."

"Wait!" Natsu begged.

Zeref grimaced. "What?"

"Can I request a few things?" Natsu asked. If he was going to be filled with that urge to kill Zeref and everything else around him, he needed to make sure his friends were safe and say his goodbyes.

". . .Fine. I will humor you."

"Before you open the book again can we go somewhere more remote? I can tell I won't be able to control myself and keep from hurting them if we fight here."

Zeref shrugged nuetrally.

Natsu continued. "I'd also like to be able to say goodbye."

Zeref chuckled at this last request. "Very well."

After he said those words, time unfroze around the pair; Natsu's guildmates were still fired up behind them. Slowly the dragon slayer turned around, his face no longer looked angry and his eyes were downcast.

Lucy was the first to notice. "Natsu? What's wrong?"

Natsu felt tears began to well up in his eyes, but he quickly attempted to wipe them away. He didn't want this to be his last time with them, but what else could he do?

Others began to notice as well. Gray called, "Oi, flame brain! What the hell are you crying for?"

Natsu looked up at his friends, putting on the bravest face he could. "Happy," he started, walking over to him. "You'll always be my best friend. I couldn't have done half the things I've done without you." Natsu took off his scarf and wrapped it around a bemused Happy. "Promise you'll always be strong, okay?"

Happy looked down at the scarf. "N-Natsu. . . what—?

Natsu wasn't sure how much of this he could take as he headed over to Gray. "Ice block. . . despite everything we've done and fought over, I want to make sure you know that you're also one of my best friends."

Gray brow furrowed. "I know that idiot, but what the hell's going on?"

Natsu's hands curled into fists at his sides. How was he supposed to tell them he's saying goodbye?

"I'm sure that we'll win, but even so, I just wanted to make sure you guys know all this stuff."

It was a horrible excuse really, but Natsu didn't want them to know what he was planning and. . . he was holding onto the small hope he would make it out of this alive.

Gray looked like he was about to say something more, but the dragon slayer steadily walked over to Lucy, who looked horribly confused.

Natsu looked at her awkwardly. "Lucy. . . I want the two of us to be together forever."

The blonde hugged him tightly. "Stupid, I've waited for you to say that!"

And now Natsu was crying. He wasn't sure if anyone had caught onto his intentions or not, but either way he still had to reopen the book. Trying to stave that off as long as possible, Natsu clutched close for another minute.

When he finally pushed away, the pinkette looked over at the worried guild. "I'll kick Zeref's ass and be back in no time, 'kay?"

"No it's not okay!" Happy retorted, flying over to his friend. "You're crying Natsu! This is too much like a goodbye!"

Natsu flinched. Happy really was more intuitive than he gave him credit for.

"Happy's right," Erza said, speaking up. "What's _really_ going on?"

Natsu had started to speak before Zeref's voice broke through the conversation.

"Natsu, this will never end. You're done now."

"But—!" Natsu tried to protest.

"Come here," Zeref commanded.

Natsu growled in objection, but started to march over. However, his whole team grabbed him.

"Why are you listening to him?!" Happy cried. "Aren't we all gonna take him down together?! I don't know if you're going to try and do this by yourself, but we both know what'll happen if you kill him!"

"Happy, I'll be fine," Natsu lied. "but I have to go."

"Whatever this is about, you have a choice flame brain!" Gray argued.

"I know," Natsu retorted. "and I'm choosing to save you guys."

Lucy let out a wail of protest as he managed to break away from their grip. The dragon slayer hurried up towards Zeref, knowing his friends would come charging after him any second.

He grabbed Zeref's sleeve. "You can teleport right? Let's go!"

Zeref smiled. "Alright."

And then, they were gone.

* * *

Lucy stood, frozen. She didn't know what to do.

"Hurry! We have to find them!" Happy cried. "Before it's too late!"

"What do you mean, Happy?" Erza asked.

Happy hiccuped. "He's— He's. . ."

As Happy stumbled over his words, Elfman ran over to the first. Seeing the collar around her neck, he used brute force to tear it off. Mavis crumpled to the floor.

"He's— Natsu's E.N.D. and we— and we have to find him 'cause he's probably trying to kill him right now! He didn't want me to say anything, but I just can't— I just can't let Natsu die! And if Zeref dies, Natsu's gonna die too!" By the end of his words, Happy was bawling.

Lucy, nor the rest of the guild, couldn't believe their ears. "Natsu's. . . E.N.D.?"

A scowl was set on Gray's face. "That idiot!"

"Everyone," An exhausted voice broke in. The group turned to look at the source of the sound, Mavis. "there's another way."

"What is it?!" Lucy cried.

"I'm going to try and put Zeref into the same coma he put me in once before," Mavis explained exhaustedly.

"Alright! Then Let's hurry!" Erza commanded. "We have no time to lose!"

"Let's go find thim!" Gray shouted.

Practically everyone in the guild, including Mavis, stormed out the door after Natsu and Zeref.

Erza shouted while she ran. "Gajeel! Wendy! Can either of you pick up their scents?!"

"I'm sorry. I can't," Wendy admitted, ashamed.

"Well I can, at least faintly," Gajeel said.

"Alright then, Carla! Happy! Lily!" Erza shouted, "Take Lucy, Mavis and Gajeel and go find Natsu! Wendy will stay with us and track your scents instead!"

"Understood!" Carla said, grabbing Mavis. "Let's go!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed, grasping Lucy.

Lily followed just behind with his own dragon slayer.

"Good luck!" Erza yelled after them.

"Give the pyro a good smack for me!" Gray called after them.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Zered asked.

Natsu swallowed nervously. As determined as he was, not being in control was terrifying. "As ready as I'll ever, besides, this urge I have is making me want to rip your throat out as is."

Zeref chuckled. "Very well, but I hope you know I'm not planning on letting you sate it so easily."

The black mage held the tome up, putting in effort to dramatize the action. Natsu took a deep breath in a futile attempt to prepare himself.

Just before opening the book, Zeref spoke one last time. "I truly regret that our lives had to play out this way. . . and I do hope you know I've always cared for you."

"Strange way of showing it," Natsu muttered.

Zeref gave an amused smile in return, and opened the book.

Once again, demonic instinct infiltrated Natsu's mind, taking it over completely.

* * *

As soon as Lucy and Happy caught sight of Natsu they hurdled towards him, ignoring the obvious signs of danger.

Seeing this, Gajeel shouted, "idiots! Don't go near him!"

Happy and Lucy paused in mid air.

Gajeel continued. "Can't you sense his magic? It's terrifying."

The group watched the dragon slayer as he launched off of the ground, begining to engage in a full on battle with the black wizard.

Mavis spotted an book in Zeref's hands. "That must be the book of E.N.D., we have to retrieve it. All of you stand by, you know the plan."

"Right!" they agreed in unison.

Carla flew Mavis to the ground before retreating up into the sky. Mavis watched the fighting pair cautiously.

"Natsu listen to me! We found a way to keep you from death and end Zeref in a way!" Lucy hollered.

"How?" an intrigued Zeref asked over the fighting.

Mavis, Charle, Gajeel, and Lily landed on the ground beside Happy and Lucy.

"I will end you the way you stopped me long ago," Mavis announce to him.

Without waiting for a response, Mavis began trying to conjure up all of her feelings towards her friends.

 _I haven't learned control over the death predation so I have to cause its activation. I have to_ _remember the value of life even in this war. I am doing this for their survival of everyone! I'M_ _DOING THIS TO STOP THE FIGHTING HERE AND NOW!_

"EVERYONE GET AWAY!" Mavis ordered, sprinting towards Zeref.

Natsu briefly glanced at the incoming girl, before returning his gaze to his creator.

Zeref suddenly snapped the book of E.N.D. shut. His eyes locked onto Lucy's. "Get him away!"

Happy barely managed to rocket forward and grab his friend before Mavis' wave of death predation left her. The group watched as Zeref crumpled to the ground.

"It worked. . ." Mavis said, panting.

Tears filled Lucy's eyes as a smile stretched across her face. She looked over at Natsu, who was donning a blank expression.

* * *

Natsu twitched. The urge to kill his creator flaring even stronger from his second Awakening.

"I think I might still have to kill him. . ." Natsu mumbled, stunned.

Lucy's smile instantly faded and the others turned their heads.

"Natsu," Lucy said, suddenly gripping his shoulder, "Zeref can't hurt anyone anymore."

"No. . . I mean I don't think I have the will power to ignore the instinct."

"What instinct?" Lucy asked.

Natsu looked up at her with a pained expression. "I have to kill him."

"No," Lucy whispered. "You don't have to! _Please!"_ she begged.

Still exhausted, Mavis looked up at the dragon slayer. "I might be able to get rid of your urge."

Natsu's eyes immediately snapped to the first.

"I know a memory spell, but it's strong and I have never used it," she explained.

The dragon slayer's eyes automatically slid back to Zeref and he nodded. "Do it."

"Very well."

* * *

 **Well, I'm not dead (if you were wondering. Honestly you had more reason to think that considering I disappeared way sooner for this story than for Natsu the Dark Wizard). Originally I quit posting because of school and stress, but to be honest, I really lost interest in Fairy Tail after I was disappointed by the Dragon Cry trailer/advertisements being basically nothing like the movie (It was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back). Another reason is that I think that all my writing in this story is absolute cringe trash. That caused me to be super stressed out by even the thought of working on it. So, as a solution I've been working on rewriting it, but it's taking awhile, since I really don't have any interest on doing that, let alone continuing. Besides that, I've also have been focusing more on improving my art and that takes up like 5 hours of my free time a day—I haven't even had time to work on the stories that I enjoy (I'm really into One Piece now and I have way too many angsty docs). And I get that this must be pretty disappointing if you enjoyed the story (especially since I'm only giving you 2,800 words) and I'm sorry, but I felt like I should put something up for anyone who's left; I also want to say that, yes, I haven't abandoned this work, it's just really not my favorite, nor at all an enjoyable thing to work on like it used to be.**

 **One last thing, I'm not going to delete the original chapters, just incase some of you somehow enjoy the original version (Btw in the rewritten version probably won't have all the same key plot points, but I'll try to make them similar).**

 **Hope you have a good evening, morning or whatever time it is for you ~FairyA.**


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